Adult higher education is changing and there are two market
realities energizing this shift - the consumer and the provider.
The consumer, adults over the age of 25, still has one driving force in
selecting a provider for its higher education needs - Convenience. No
other single factor has a greater impact in this selection, even that of
price. Adults are busier than ever with the demands of home family and
especially today the economic needs of work and provision. In the midst
of that juggling act, adults keenly recognize the need for higher levels of
education in order to remain current, seek or retain occupation goals and
provide for their standard of living. It is convenient access they seek,
are willing to work for and pay for. The research is clear, they are
coming back to school in droves and per my last blog entry, are falling into
two very distinct categories. The first category will find
technology to be a barrier to convenience, and thus choose accelerated
classroom formats. The second category is fully online.
The providers on the other hand is facing market realities of their own.
Budgets are strapped; staffing is limited and often cut down
significantly. Aging buildings need repair and traditional campuses are fiscally
in neglect even if the traditional dorms are full. The cost per student
is too great. Many of the executives in conversation with me are spending hours
in strategic planning sessions attempting to crack the nut of their collective
future. One thing is for sure - things must change in order for
institutions to survive.
In the midst of this malaise, institutions of higher education are aware of the
adult market growth and wondering how they might be able to become a
significant provider to it. Key barriers include lack of talent in adult
and online education, lack of curriculum sophistication, lack of knowledge on
how to market properly and gain a return on investment.
It is with a keen eye to these critical success factors on both the consumer
and provider end that Education Strategy finds its mission. Having the
ability to provide sophisticated online and accelerated classroom curriculum
that is market ready, an approach to adult marketing that works and yields
results, and a suite of consulting services that is comprehensive enough to
offer a guarantee of enrollments brings us into the forefront of higher
education strategy today.
As I consider the key factors on our success one of them has to be the approach
we take with institutions. It is a partnership, not a client relationship.
We coach, not take over, so that in the end the relationship breeds
independence, but launches with a quick market presence and results without a
long term contract. This partnership of shared risk has worked for twenty
years and with the new market realities of today, it is sure to be around for
the next twenty as well.
Lets start a conversation toward your success.
Nathan